p5100, available lenses?

[Scotttyd]

Ok, well I think I have decided to go with either the Canon a590is or the Nikon p5100 and ikelite housing, now I have to decide on what lenses are available to me.

1. First before choosing Ikelite, are there any other housings out there other than the canon OEM housing? advantages/disadvantages?

2. The ikelite will let me keep using my AF35 strobe until I buy a better unit (which I should have done in the first place, but I did not know any better)

3. What WA and macro wet mount lenses work best for this camera? WA, I may add a dome converter as well to get the widest angle available. Can you stack macro lenses with this set up, which ones are available. FWIW I know absolutely nothing (well barely nothing) about add on lenses,

thanks for everybody help and hopefully I have not annoyed y'all to much with my rambling questions

 

[herman]

Both of the Ike housing use the 67mm lens. I have a WA and 2 macro lens that will fit either housing. You are welcome to try them if you like.

 

[Scotttyd]

Both of the Ike housing use the 67mm lens. I have a WA and 2 macro lens that will fit either housing. You are welcome to try them if you like.

i was planning on asking you once I get my camera and housing, I just wanted to make sure there was not some issue with either of the camera that would not allow either WA or macro lenses in general/

 

[Scotttyd]

I see the fantasea housing is much less expensive than the ikelite (475 vs 175).
1. Is the ikelite worth the extra cost??
2. Also I know the fantasea housing uses the 46mm lenses, would this affect picture quality at all?
3. I have an ikelite strobe, anyone know if it would be able to be configured to fit on this housing?

 

[JackConnick]

Fantasea's lenses for the P5100 are pretty decent quality. From my experience equal to the Inon 105. They aren't going to win any corner sharpenss or chromantic aberation awards, but decent enough for most use.

The housing is a lot smaller and lighter than the Ike as well.

Fantasea has a year of flood insurance if you have an oops.

Jack

 

[Nemrod]

The Fancytasea will not accept either bayonet or threaded 67mm lenses, therefore, it is a no go starter out of the gate, fell flat and died on the track. Step up rings and duct tape solutons are also no go. The rings are more to thread and set the lenses out to far. Maybe someday somebody will build housings for cameras to accept off the shelf lenses. Meanwhile talk is cheap, true wide angle is not.

N

 

[oly5050user]

the ike is ready for ttl use via sync cord/hot shoe.If you go with other housings you loose this feature that the camera offers.

 

[Nemrod]

Camera to grow with---hmmm.

This summer there will be this:

Olympus high-end compact due by summer | PMA 2009 - CNET Blogs


This is a whole new type of camera. As well, since it appears Olympus has an interest in underwater photography more than any current mainstream manufacturer expect there will be an underwater housing. Also expect Ikelite and hopefully a few others to jump in.

The potential is that these may work not only with wet lenses---big maybe--but that they will work with dry mount mini 4/3 lenses! This may be finally the pro level digital "rangefinder" type camera--but note that it is really a dSLR without the clunky mirror and all of that crap. This will be the 2010 hot underwater camera, super small, pocketable, slr, RAW, multiple lens capability from macro to fisheye.

Fingers crossed.

N,
I hate those stupid huge SLRs, carried one strung around my neck for years, thanks, I will pass on that.

N

 

[JackConnick]

I have no idea why you think that 67mm is the only way to go. That lens size is very old now.

The Nikon P5100 has a 35mm lens and the Fantasea FP5100 works just fine with the FWAL02 wide angle lens with a threaded 46mm port without vignette. This is an "off-the-shelf" system, no step up rings. W/A, macro and red filers are available. There is even a red filter for the W/A lens. I think they may be coming out with a very nice dome lens as well soon. Quality is quite good, see the FP5100 link for photos of a whale shark and review by a SB'er.

As to the micro-Oly camera, I doubt that the camera will ship very soon and my sources say that UW housings for it are a ways off, a guess would be next spring at best. I do think it may be an excellent platform for UW photography.

Jack

 

[Nemrod]

I have no idea why you think that 67mm is the only way to go. That lens size is very old now.

The Nikon P5100 has a 35mm lens and the Fantasea FP5100 works just fine with the FWAL02 wide angle lens with a threaded 46mm port without vignette. This is an "off-the-shelf" system, no step up rings. W/A, macro and red filers are available. There is even a red filter for the W/A lens. I think they may be coming out with a very nice dome lens as well soon. Quality is quite good, see the FP5100 link for photos of a whale shark and review by a SB'er.

As to the micro-Oly camera, I doubt that the camera will ship very soon and my sources say that UW housings for it are a ways off, a guess would be next spring at best. I do think it may be an excellent platform for UW photography.

Jack

Really now, old, so what. The 46mm, what makes that better? Is there a macro lens in that size. Howabout a dome port in that size? Is there any bayonet option available? Is there a fisheye available.

How wide is the FOV for the 46mm lens, how does it optically mount up with larger native lens objectives? Earlier this year somebody asked about a similar subject and you had him wrapping electrical tape for some kind of slide on doodad. Sorry, old, new, does not matter, functional matters. The duct tape and slide on lens holders and electrical tape just does not work for most people, farm technology, now that is old. What is old is the same old stuff over and over, howabout a camera and housing that actually works with off the shelf lenses, bayonet mount such as the 28AD and AD series instead of trying to screw crap on underwater.

I stated 2010, next spring would be spring of 2010, yes, I agree, that is what I said. The Panasonic G1 is BTW a Micro 4/3 slr you can get now.

The 80 to 90 degrees FOV of the 46mm lens Fantasea offers is barely wide angle underwater. Why does the web page say if they are out you get this one and then you read about that one and they say if they are out of it you get the other one? Which one is which and why are their two different of the same thing?

As to the P5100, that camera will likely be dropped soon, then what?

If 67mm is "old" then what makes 46mm new and better? Why reinvent the wheel over and over? I see no advantage other than possible smaller size which is not an advantage if the camera that is being selected has a lens diameter exceeding the rear element diameter of the wet mount 47mm lens. It is hard enough to get an optical alignment without decreasing the lens size to make it more limited.

When you have a multi-coated, glass, dome corrected 130 to 180 degree FOV lens in 46mm, get back with me on that. Inon has four ultra wide angle lenses already plus three 90/100 degree wide angle lenses and several macro lenses. And Fantasea has what? For what?

N